1 Month Old Kitten – Next step?

Hi Pixie, congratulations on getting your child to the one month old mark! That in itself is quite an accomplishment! You can introduce her to the litter box now. I do it when they wake up (make sure you have a small enough box or tray with plain unscented litter that she can easily get in and out of on her own) and a little while after eating. You can even stimulate her and put her in it. Put some of her poops in there, she will figure it out quickly. You can also introduce wet food to her now also. If she doesn’t seem interested, then try again in a few days. In my older kittens, I have cut the end off the nipple and add a little wet food to the formula and it sticks with them a little longer.
I don’t know if I worry about how many times a day to feed her, it depends on the individual kitten. By now you probably know when she is hungry but the sound of her cries. Things start happening quickly now, she will get in a routine of sleeping, using the litter box, eating, playing and sleeping again. Reinforce positively all the wonderful things she does and you won’t believe how fast she grows. When she starts chewing and biting, give her toys to bite not fingers and toes and eventually with patience, she will stop nibbling your skin! Hope this helps!
Oh and the litter above should be the non clumping type for a while since kittens sometimes have a habit of thinking it’s food in the beginning and may try to eat it. Try to stay away from strong smelling litter (I bought some and it was so strong smelling, my kitten quit using the box) the plain clay unscented for a while if you can find it. Seriously, why do these companies make it smell so strong anyway?!

With your kitten only being 4 weeks, I wouldn’t try to replace the milk with water just yet. But you can put a bowl of water down and show it to her, by putting your finger in it, touching her lips and nose and directing her back to the bowl. Try with a saucer of milk first, it smells good to them.

Good job Pixie! Your kitten is on her way to being weaned! It doesn’t hurt to give her a bottle if she wants one now and then, but she will take what she wants from the wet food, and yes they do tend to make a mess at first! THEN, they just hate having dirty paws and will start grooming themselves which is something they eventually learn to do! You can give her wet food on a regular schedule, I do with my other cats and my kitten gets fed right along with them. What he doesn’t eat they finish off of course, but he/they get fed about 3 or 4 times a day since they are on a wet food only diet. I give him milk if he wants it maybe once or twice daily. He is pretty much weaned and doesn’t cry for food anymore. With being on a schedule, then they poop on a schedule too. He has his own litter box, but the other cats have decided to use it because, well, IT’S THERE! Have fun with your new baby and you can relax a bit now!

Awesome job getting to the 1 month point! When I got Alice she was pretty much weaned at 7 weeks but sometimes she would nurse on mom for comfort. When we brought her home we didn’t have any of the food that she had been eating we had blue buffalo(yes we spoil them) I added goats milk to the wet food and she was getting wet food 3-4 times a day. Now she’s 11 weeks and she only gets the wet food 2-3 times a day. We don’t give her goats milk everyday now but as a treat now. We free feed dry food right now for both of our cats and I have noticed that Alice drinks a lot of water even with all the wet food she eats. I actually find her water bowl empty every couple days. Every cat is different. And absolutely get a stuffed animal for her to play rough with your hands, arms, feet, toes, ect will appreciate it. Enjoy this time they grow up so fast and you’ll wish for the days when they just wanted to cuddle all the time lol